Home / Environment / Chennai Residents Fight Toxic Waste Dumping Crisis
Chennai Residents Fight Toxic Waste Dumping Crisis
20 Jan
Summary
- Plastic and meat waste accumulates, posing health risks to residents.
- Residents report toxic smoke from burning garbage near their homes.
- Agaramthen lake pollution feared due to improper waste disposal.
For months, a two-kilometer stretch in Chennai, between Mappedu and Vengambakkam, has become an unofficial dumping ground for plastic and meat waste. This ongoing issue severely impacts the local community of over 5,000 residents, who have seen their complaints to local authorities go unheeded. The proximity of the dumping site to an inlet channel of the Agaramthen lake raises serious concerns about potential water pollution.
Compounding the problem, waste is frequently burned, releasing toxic smoke that irritates residents and poses long-term health dangers, including respiratory illnesses and potentially lung cancer. Experts warn that burning plastics releases harmful gases like sulphur dioxide. This practice directly endangers the health of the numerous children living and playing in the vicinity.
Residents are pushing for basic services like door-to-door waste collection, but their efforts have been frustrated. One resident even took the matter to the High Court, filing a petition against garbage dumping and encroachment on nearby wasteland, highlighting the desperate measures taken to address the environmental crisis.
